Many folks have been concerned about adding rhubarb leaves to their compost piles. If the leaves are poisonous, then maybe they are bad for compost as well, since rhubarb stalks contain a high concentration of oxalic acid which slightly toxic, right? What actually occurs when rhubarb is added to a compost pile is that the oxalic acid is mostly broken down, diluted and pH balanced rather quickly. People don't eat compost piles as a rule anyway, and even if a child were to eat compost dirt, there would be problems other than from and remaining oxalic acid from the decomposing rhubarb stalks. Experience has shown that the level of acid does not inhibit the microbial action of composting. Compost piles which were nearly all rhubarb leaves and stalks have decomposed very nicely and the compost has behaved like ordinary compost and no inhibition of plant growth was noticed from the compost.
Welcome
Rhubarb is a wonderful plant, with many uses and application. This web site is all about rhubarb. Since June 1994 these web pages have been available to anyone interested in gaining an understanding and appreciation of this fine vegetable. This compendium is a collection of rhubarb information from many sources.
There are four easy ways to find what you need. You can search for it, use the main index Pages, select a Tag or review the Archives to find rhubarb articles or rhubarb recipes
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